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Keith Ellison stands up for seniors, children and disabled over Grand Bargain Deal

Forming the Catfood Commission was political genius. The Commission’s goal was to find ways to address the deficit. Conservatives and conservative Democrats ran the commission.

The Catfood Commission made it easier for Beltway Democrats to accept discussing drastic cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. After all, these serious people on this serious commission had introduced it as the only way to address the issue.

Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-MN) sees this in a similar light (though he may not use the same words). He’s opposed to these drastic cuts and is in a position to protect our seniors, kids and the disabled. Here’s his press release:

WASHINGTON- Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released the following statement after Politico reported on the potential outlines of a deal, including $1.2 trillion in new tax revenue and $400 billion in changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security“Any agreement to meet our end-of-the-year deadlines will need a large portion of the House Democratic Caucus to pass. Progressives will not support any deal that cuts benefits for families and seniors who rely on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to put food on the table or cover their health costs. Last year, over 80 members of the Progressive, Black, and Asian Pacific-Islander Caucuses stood united in opposing an agreement that cut benefits for these families, and 44 members have introduced a resolution demanding these cuts be off the table. “There are better options that protect seniors, children, and disabled Americans. We should allow Medicare Part D to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors and by requiring the wealthy to contribute to Social Security on all of their wages, as middle class Americans do now. But cuts like raising the retirement age would cost seniors thousands of dollars, and increase the cost of health care by over $11 billion.”